I'm a staff writer at Forbes, where until recently I chased the super-rich for our Forbes 400 and World's Billionaires lists. Now I'm covering the consumer economy, writing about the big personalities reinventing retail. Before Forbes, I worked as a news reporter in the UK and my home country of Bermuda, a travel writer for Frommer's and an intern for CNN's Anderson Cooper while completing a master's degree at Columbia University. Got a story idea? Email me at coconnor@forbes.com.

Social media giant Facebook and photo sharing subsidiary Instagram today announced new rules aimed at cutting down illegal gun sales on both platforms.

The sites will delete reported posts offering to buy or sell guns without background checks — often an indicator that one or more of those involved in the transaction could be a minor or a felon seeking to evade the law.

Facebook will also block those under 18 from viewing reported private gun sales posts from individual sellers and any pages used primarily for private firearm offers.

The company’s policy changes come as a result of months of lobbying by gun control groups including Gabby Giffords’ Americans for Responsible Solutions, Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Sandy Hook Promise and Moms Demand Action as well as the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

In a corporate blog post that will go online on Wednesday afternoon, Facebook will introduce “a series of new educational and enforcement efforts for people discussing the private sale of regulated items.”

To wit, says the team behind Mark Zuckerberg’s multibillion dollar social network:

- Any time we receive a report on Facebook about a post promoting the private sale of a commonly regulated item, we will send a message to that person reminding him or her to comply with relevant laws and regulations. We will also limit access to that post to people over the age of 18.

-We will require Pages that are primarily used by people to promote the private sale of commonly regulated goods or services to include language that clearly reminds people of the importance of understanding and complying with relevant laws and regulations, and limit access to people over the age of 18 or older if required by applicable law.

-We will provide special in-app education on Instagram for those who search for sales or promotions of firearms.

-We will not permit people to post offers to sell regulated items that indicate a willingness to evade or help others evade the law. For example, private sellers of firearms in the U.S. will not be permitted to specify “no background check required,” nor can they offer to transact across state lines without a licensed firearms dealer.

Facebook acknowledges that its decision was a challenge. “People sometimes use our free tools to discuss products that are regulated or controversial,” says the Wednesday announcement.

“In some cases they promote these products for sale or use, even though it’s not possible to complete a sale on Facebook or Instagram. While we’ve recently heard specific concerns from people about offers for the private sales of firearms, this is one of many areas where we face a difficult challenge balancing individuals’ desire to express themselves on our services, and recognizing that this speech may have consequences elsewhere.”

New York Attorney General Schneiderman, who has made gun regulation a priority during his tenure, has been working with Facebook since November in hopes of bringing about this change.

“Responsible social media sites know that it is in no one’s interest for their sites to become a 21st century black market in dangerous and illegal goods that place our families and communities at risk,” he said in a statement. “I congratulate Facebook and Instagram for taking these simple, common-sense steps to protect the safety and security of their users, and encourage other social media sites to follow their lead.”

Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts sees Wednesday’s move as a step in the right direction, although she and her team of grassroots activists still have a few influential national retailers like Staples in their sights. The organization was instrumental in forcing Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s hand late last year, when he announced firearms were no longer welcome in his coffee shops.

“We are happy that these companies listened to American mothers and we believe these changes are a major step toward making sure people who buy or sell guns on their platforms know the law, and follow it,” said Watts. “Moms are particularly pleased that Facebook will block minors from seeing posts about gun sales or trades, and that we can be confident that these social networks will be safe spaces for our kids.”

“There’s still so much to be done – by corporations, by Congress, and by local leaders – to keep guns out of dangerous hands. Moms have momentum and we’re moving the country toward a culture of gun safety one company, one legislator, one law at a time.”

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

These sales are not illegal as there are no federal laws requiring individuals to have background check through private sales. You do realize criminals don’t care about gun laws, they are called criminals for a reason they break laws. All this mess is another hoop for the good guys to have to go through, to appease the lunatic politicians.

“One law at a time” What law has MDA brought into fruition? They are a radical and a fringe group who is trying to bully companies into towing their line and following their will. They seem to ignore that fact that gun Homicides are down since their height in 1993, down 49%.